Sex in the Brain

What controls our sex lives? Our brains. Yet there is surprisingly little research into the ways our brains influence our sex drive. Extraordinary insights into how the brain works can be gained when something goes wrong through brain injury or disease.

In Sex in the Brain, clinical neuropsychologist Dr Amee Baird takes readers on an entertaining and informative tour of the sexiest bits of the human brain. Spiced with real case studies, the book reveals pathologies no longer hidden in medical journals or the bedrooms of people whose sex lives are undergoing dramatic change, for better and worse. In the style of popular neurology guru Oliver Sacks, Baird captures the humanity and complexity of patients, even when their neurological challenges have rendered them permanently or temporarily unlikeable.

Drawing from true stories, this revealing and sometimes heartbreaking book unfolds a better understanding of the links between brain function and our sexual selves.

'The taboo on talking about changes in sex drive and sexual behaviours following brain damage is over!  Neuropsychologist Amee Baird's engaging case studies exploring this topic will move as well as educate the general reader, and inspire professionals to incorporate this central human need into their patient assessments and treatments.' - Jenni Ogden, author of Fractured Minds and Trouble in Mind

'Sex in the Brain is an intoxicating read about our most important sex organ: the brain. Baird's book explores neuroscience in a way that is both accessible and engaging, and readers will be fascinated by the untold stories of how brain injury, illness, and disease impact our sex lives. They will walk away with a greater appreciation for the incredible diversity that exists in human sexual behavior and the way it is intricately controlled by the brain.' - Dr. Justin Lehmiller, research fellow at The Kinsey Institute and author of the book Tell Me What You Want


'This modest but resolute book is testament to Baird's persistence and her concern for the people she writes about. There is a fair bit of brain science in here, but she makes it clear this is not an academic or scholarly work. It is structured around a series of case studies and conversations, with other researchers, with herself and most strikingly with ordinary people who find themselves exiled, sometimes forever, from the people they once were and the lives they once led. The impact on the patients and on their families forms the heart of the book.' - Kate Cole Adams, The Monthly

'Sex in the Brain introduces a very promising new talent in popular neuroscience and deserves to be widely read.' - Nick Haslam, Inside Story